Melbourne looks almost certain to be without towering prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona for preseason training in December after the star doubled down on his stance on vaccination.
The Kiwi prop has expressed reluctance to become vaccinated against COVID-19 and Storm CEO Justin Rodski conceded there would be “significant implications” for Asofa-Solomona if he remained unvaccinated.
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The forward will not be able to train with the team from December 7, nor play Storm home games once the season commenced due to the Victorian Government’s health orders.
The Storm had been hopeful Asofa-Solomona, who’s on a reported $675,000 a season, would change his mind but the 25-year-old’s let his feelings be known on social media.
“Front line nurses speaking out. Ask the question, why are they willing to lose their job to not get the juice? What are they seeing that we don’t see,” Asofa-Solomona posted on Instagram.
The post also featured a link to a video of South Australian healthcare workers protesting SA Heath’s decision to make unvaccinated healthcare workers take leave.
The New Zealand star faces being stood down by the club with two years left on his contract if he doesn’t comply.
“Clearly there could be implications for the club if we do have an unvaccinated player,” Rodski said last week.
“They won’t be able to train and therefore won’t be able to fulfil their contract, which clearly has significant implications on our club and on a player that’s being paid a lot of money.
“We want them to come and do a proper pre-season so that they’re ready to play.”
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